UNICEF and the Global Goals

UNICEF is committed to doing all it can to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in partnership with governments, civil society, business, academia and the United Nations family – and especially children and young people.

Reaching children in South Sudan

The situation of children in the world's youngest country

Sebit Mabiel, 13, holds UNICEF educational supplies provided to him and other children at Kaikuiny primary school during a Rapid Response Mechanism mission in Jonglei State, South Sudan.

The scale of the crisis in the world’s youngest country is staggering.

Renewed conflict since July 2016 has deepened a humanitarian crisis that, since the violence erupted in December 2013, has displaced over 3 million people, including 1.1 million who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Almost 70 per cent of the refugees are children.

Meanwhile, a deteriorating economic situation, with skyrocketing inflation, has triggered a food security crisis. An estimated 31 per cent of the population is experiencing severe food insecurity as of December 2016, and children are among the most vulnerable. The situation is expected to deteriorate further, with 276,343 children likely to be affected by severe acute malnutrition in 2017.

Over half the country's children are out of school – the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world. Children remain at risk of recruitment by armed forces and groups and, with traditional social structures damaged, they are also increasingly vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and exploitation.